...and Rock & Roll.

I was twenty-one when I first heard John Zorns’ Naked City project - a super-group of established jazz artists such as Bill Frisell and Fred Frith, with the occasional appearance by Yamatsuka Eye - a shrieking ball of howls, grunts, roars and belches.

“He can’t possibly do that for a living.” I thought, filing Yamatsuka san under “investigate”. Months later, he popped up again on a recording of an improvised gig in Manchester no less, under the truly inspired moniker of MC Hellshit. That did it, and I decided to read up on him.

Imagine my joy when I found out that he fronted a Japanese rock band called Boredoms. Thus, a love affair which continues to this day was born. I started listening to their music just as it changed direction, towards psychedelic trance-rock, but they had a back-catalogue of more abrasive stuff. One reviewer described Boredoms music of this period as “punk rock torn to pieces and then stapled back together again”…sections of improvised noise from Yamatsuka san and the rest of the band (of a similar vocal persuasion) complimented with cartoon rock, which is heavy, obnoxious, definitely not the sort of thing you’d play to your mother or in-laws and laced with a gloriously demented sense of humour.

Joy, thought I. Rapture, even. Here was a whole new world of music to discover. I then began investigating what Japanese music I could. Just as noisy as Boredoms, but a lot tighter musically, are Melt Banana. To call upon another reviewer, Melt Banana are a “steel locomotive going full speed through a brick wall”. It’s excellent cleaning-the-house music, fast, relentless and exhausting.

My stint at the Library had me encountering the delightful peculiarities of Asa Chang & Junray, the likes of whom I’ve never heard before. Asa Chang formerly led the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, then from what I can gather, took up the tablas and went off to form this group. They combine elements of traditional Indian music with…whatever they can find by the look of it. There’s something Gilliam-esque about Asa Chang and Junray. Each piece is like a weird little machine, sometimes gracefully and beautifully complex, other times slightly comical.

Like a Lovecraftian hero, I discovered the chaotic horrors of Merzbow, who since the 70’s has plowed a deafening furrow in a field occupied by groups such as Throbbing Gristle. Then I found the sublime work of Susumu Yokota. He made his name in the Rave craze of the early nineties, then retreated into the mountains to construct artfully restrained ambient works. He has a prolific output, still releasing an album of DJ fodder every now and then…I heartily recommend anything of his to anyone.

So anyway, with these characters under my belt, I hopped onto a plane to Japan, part of me expecting rather naively that I’d discover a dearth of interesting music…

J-Pop (go here for an article about the history of…) is a term that describes the bulk of pop music made in Japan. Other genres are marked as J-Club, J-Reggae, J-Punk etc…Jazz however is Japanese Jazz (J-Jazz is just silly)…I think the obscene creature that is J-Pop has grown out of Japans insatiable thirst for the rest of the world, and their desire to make it Japanese. It’s like they’ve seen what is considered pop music and imitated it, exaggerating what is to them, its’ most prominent features. Thusly we have very highly produced, glittery, shiny, spangly AUDIO-JOY, or poignant, heart-breaking, desperately earnest POWER-BALLADS. It is hideous. If ever a nation deserved to drown in a lake of cheese…

You can accuse any Pop Music market of being obsessed with the young, fresh faced and new…one group however manage to take that thought to it’s most ridiculous extreme, yet still remain perfectly logical (especially if you're a foaming cynic). Morning Musume was founded in 1997 by producer Tsunku. The group (made up of girls aged from 12-24) exists independently of the members, who have a near constant turn-over, retiring once they're considered too old, or if they’re found to be doing anything inappropriate to the bands image, such as having a relationship. Yes indeed, sex sells.

There’s still fun to be had in the mainstream though. Big in the mid to late nineties were Judy and Mary, truly everything you expect a Japanese Pop/Rock group to sound like - boppy, noisy, stompy, cheerful and unsophisticated yet competent, bringing you songs such as “Cheese Pizza“ wherein the heroine’s icy heart melts like a...yes. Poetry. Their former front-lady, Yuki, has had a successful solo career since then, and I will confess to being partial to her squeaky voice.

Exploding with success just before I arrived were Orange Range, performing a kind of rap, with a kind of heavy rock, with lots of squiggly synth noises. Success over here is equated with having your music associated with products, movies and adverts, which makes sense, as Japan has the second largest music industry in the world, and you’d be hard pressed to hear of any of their famous bands outside of the country.

But, what of Boredoms? What of Susumu Yokota? In all the conversations I’ve had with Japanese people about music, only two of them have heard of Boredoms. Unsurprising really, considering what they are faced with in terms of popular appeal. The upside is that when I happen to play MC Hellshit to my students, I take an impish glee in seeing the looks on their faces when I inform them of his origins…


...my thanks to Wikipedia...

...Drugs...

Kids, just say no. Especially here. Penalties are harsh. From other stories I’ve read about Japanese prisons, it’s clear that the emphasis is on punishment rather than re-habilitation. The mere possession of cannabis, by far the softest substance covered in a certain informative chart I‘ve discovered, carries a sentence of up to five years. Drugs are the ultimate evil over here (apart from minority groups), although it’s only recently that Psylocibin (Magic Mushroom) has been declared illegal, previously enjoying, as it did in my own green and pleasant land, an ambiguous legal status.

Most of this information comes from a pamphlet entitled “NO, Absolutely NO!” to drug abuse! circulated in Kawasaki schools last year. Whilst I’m not advocating widespread drug use, this document is a piece of propaganda…and since it’s Japanese, it’s told with adorable cartoons.


Drug users are depicted as blue-skinned zombies with no pupils, surrounded by small squiggles, thunder bolts, and occasionally pursued by ghosts with knives. Whilst this is endearing for a while, the cracks in the relentless argument start to show with the persistence of the medium.

When they show an actual photograph comparing the brain of a clean member of society with that of a paint thinner abuser (apparently, it’s the drug of choice for penniless teenagers), then the argument carries weight. However, the same page presents two arbitrary drawings of a spiral, one supposedly by a normal person, the other supposedly by a paint thinner abuser…

This demonstration of points through patterns of an indeterminate source is repeated with a sketch of two rats, one normal, the other drugged. Their routes to various foodstuffs in a simple maze are traced with two lines, one smooth and precise, the other, erratic and wavy. The diagram clearly indicates that a cartoon rat under the influence of drugs is less likely to find food than a sober cartoon rat.

Maybe the authors realized that their constant use of cartoons to illustrate a point was in danger of not being taken seriously, so they backed it up with some photographs of rats under the influence of cannabis. The caption beneath a photo of four rats seeming to have a fight, claims that cannabis makes creatures attack their non-drugged fellows. I have spent a long time looking at this photograph, and I am convinced that it actually shows two very stoned rats mesmerized by their own reflections.


The interesting thing about this pamphlet is the very Japanese tone. First of all, when describing the cons of drug use, the authors highlight the effects it has on society - namely people dropping out, not working and subsequent economic losses, which is a stance I’ve never seen before in similar literature.

Later on, there is a world map showing the routes that illicit substances take to get to their destinations. Even though some opium reaches the rest of the world from Japan, the big arrows make it clear that the drugs came from China first.

To sidestep for a while, and mention how Governments see fit to conveniently forget some embarrassing segments of their history…opium was a strong source of revenue in countries occupied by Japan. Consequently, the Japanese Government created millions of addicts in an act of state sponsored drug dealing. Governments of the West, you’re just as guilty.

Back to the drug booklet, and one picture of the blue drug zombies claims that they’re criminal gangs from the Kansai region (West Japan). That one still baffles me. Why, out of all the BDZ’s in the pamphlet is one group singled out as being from Kansai, and from nowhere else, as if Kansai was the source of all that is evil in Japan?

For some reason, people from Kansai seem to take a beating from those in Kanagawa and Tokyo. One of my most recent private students was telling me about a trip she took to Osaka, as her son is studying there. Despite the legendary friendliness of the Osaka-jin, she didn’t like it there as she found their Japanese to be “dirty”. In the hope of discovering some actual Japanese swear-words, I pressed her on the subject, but it turns out it was their accent that disgusted her so.

This is an attitude I’ve encountered several times since being here. I once had the misfortune to meet and have a prolonged conversation with the rudest woman in the world …she, of course, was oblivious to her odious tongue, and we were with mutual friends, so I had to hold mine…anyway, the bulk of her galloping faux pas has been lost in a blurry flurry of beer and other social occasions…but I remember her making frequent aspersions as to the moral fibre of everywhere in Japan she didn’t have intimate knowledge of.

Once again, I only skirt around that core of Japanese society - Uchi & Soto, inside and outside…it’s like Japanese society is made up of gossiping circles who strengthen their internal bonds by demonizing everything outside their group.

Back to drugs - I agree with a great deal of what the pamphlet says. Drugs, legal or otherwise, when consumed regularly are bad for you. Maybe what is a bone of contention for myself and others of a similar persuasion is the imbalance and sometimes outright lies of the anti-drugs argument. It seems that here, just like everywhere else, drugs are tolerated as long as they’re useful to society. Ripobitan D anyone?

Sex...

In (eventual) response to a request from Dave, here's the first of a trilogy about the racier side of Japanese life...no prizes for guessing the titles of the next two entries...

In such a rigidly conservative society as Japan, you'd expect an appropriate stance towards sex, but this isn't always the case. Japan actually displays attitudes that seem to contradict each other; on one hand, no kissing in public because of sexual connotations, on the other, a troupe of transvestites carrying a gigantic pink cock down a main road. Surprisingly enough, in the dictatorship of the Edo period, attitudes to sexuality were considerably more lenient than they became with the introduction of "Western Enlightenment" in the Meiji period. The new rulers felt that public morality had to be tailored to strengthen ties with Western powers.

During the hoo-ha over Brokeback Mountain, I remember one particularly virulent critic saying they found it highly offensive that cowboys, truly a Great American Symbol were presented as gay men, and that the Japanese probably wouldn’t like it if there was a major film made about a gay Samurai…well, the thing is…what do the Japanese and the Ancient Greeks have in common? Medieval Japan (and to some extent, modern Japan) was a rather misogynistic, men-first society. Women were there for sex and making babies. There were those who felt that ones true equal, intellectually and emotionally could only be found in one of the same sex - women simply weren’t made of the same stuff that men were, consequently couldn’t relate to their deeper feelings. Therefore, it wasn't uncommon for some Samurai to have page boys as lovers.

Today, as in the past, most Japanese live with several generations of their family, in a house with paper thin walls. Even those who live alone aren't assured privacy from their neighbours. This is where the uniquely Japanese phenomenon of the Love Hotel comes in handy. These are establishments, usually located away from the activity of a city, where couples can have sex in private surroundings, staying for just a few hours, or overnight. The facades are usually ornate in an ex-Mafioso Riviera Mansion style, whilst the entrances are discreet. Then there's the rooms themselves, legendarily displaying a wide range of decoration, from Medieval Palace to '50's Diner (complete with a bed shaped like a car), with some places incorporating an S&M room in the basement. These days, Love Hotels are trying to lose their sleazy image, so many of the Disneyland style theme rooms are disappearing, in favour of less cartoonish (but not necessarily more tasteful) apparel.

As mentioned before, you will almost never see Japanese couples exchanging a kiss in public. This is because in Japan a kiss is seen as a part of foreplay. Hayley and I once ran into a gaggle of some of my 3rd year girls. In the midst of their giggles, they asked us to kiss each other. Naturally, we didn’t humour the little voyeurs. There was actually a law against kissing in public in the 1920's, rescinded during the American occupation in 1945. The Japanese word for kiss, seppun, is rarely used, the English derived kissu being a substitute. According to one writer (very interesting article if you have the time),

"many Japanese consider kissing to be an import from the West..."

This same writer recounts a story of Rodins' sculpture "The Kiss" being exhibited in Tokyo in 1930. The nudity of the figures wasn't considered problematic by the authorities, but they insisted that the heads be covered up. This is echoed in the attitude towards pornography, which has its traditions in the erotic Shunga prints of the Edo period.

The legality of pornography in Japan is a peculiar old fruit. Whilst titles of a violent or scatological nature don't seem to be a problem, genitals and pubic hair on the other hand are an absolute no-no. Toshio Maeda's "Urotsukidoji" series of Manga (not for the faint hearted) got around this problem by presenting the penis as a tentacle appendage attached to a big scary monster.

Pornography is widely available, sometimes on display in the most ill advised places. One video store in Kawasaki happens to have their adult section right next to a shelf of cartoons, and there's even a porn-dispensing vending machine in central Osaka.

Worryingly famous are those who decide to take advantage of the anonymity of crowded trains and have a cheeky squeeze of tender parts of someone’s anatomy. Thankfully, train companies have considered this matter, and added “women-only” carriages to trains at certain times, when they consider the chikan to be out in force…plus, read any internet message board about Japan, look for this subject and read with glee the stories of ladies who take their revenge on the filthy gits.

All this seems to paint the Japanese as a nation of sexual deviants, but that's only because the data has been clumped together in a sweaty writhing mass. The fabled vending machines of school-girls panties caused a moral uproar when they first appeared in Chiba in the '90s. The public was horrified on the whole, but legally, the authorities couldn't do anything about it, as there were no laws in place covering the sale of used underwear. Suddenly, an idea was born. The garments were brought under the control of a law governing the sale of antiques, and declared as such, since they were second hand. Anybody wishing to sell antiques had to apply for a licence from the local governing body, which could naturally be refused during the process, as it was in most cases. I never thought I'd type this ever, but...bureaucracy saves the day!!

The Sins of the Father

Following WWII, Korea was separated into two states after “liberation” from the occupying Japanese. Then allies, Russia & America chose to divide the territory. The encroaching Cold War led them to install governments to their liking. America engineered Democracy in the South, whilst Russia installed a Communist regime in the North, led by Kim Il-sung, father of the DPRK’s current ruler.

On the whole, Korea desired re-unification. Unfortunately, occupation and war from several powers (Russia and Japan had been at war over Korea at the turn of the century) had left conflicting interests amongst its people. Occupying forces had helped contribute to a “brain-drain”, as gifted Koreans were recruited for Government Agencies, thus seen as collaborators with the invaders. Such disunity was increased with the emergence of and conflict between Communist, Industrialist, pro US, pro Russian, pro Chinese groups, and early attempts at unity failed.

In 1950, as part of a relaxing of military commitments, US forces pulled out of South Korea. Comments later made by then Secretary of State, Dean Acheson (which have since been branded as careless) implied that South Korea wasn’t seen as a priority by Washington.

Effectively, this gave the green light to a well equipped North Korea, who wished to unify the country under a Communist Government. On the 25th of June, 1950, the DPRK launched a surprise attack on the South. The Korean War raged for three years, devastating the South. A ceasefire was drawn up, ending hostilities, however, nothing more substantial has been agreed upon. Technically, North and South Korea have still been at war since then.

The death of Stalin in 1953 came as a huge blow to the Communist World. The orthodox Communist leader Kim Il-sung rejected the de-Stalinisation that followed, thus isolating the DPRK from its’ former political friends. Kims’ focus on the policy of “Juche” (self-reliance) has cemented this isolation, and probably contributed a great deal to the current situation of poverty and famine in North Korea. In order to achieve independence from the Soviet Union, Juche focused on heavy industry. Unfortunately, this is mostly geared towards the manufacture of arms.

In the course of the DPRK’s hermeticism, a colossal personality cult has been built around Kim Il-sung and his son, Kim Jong-Il. Campaigns such as the building of monuments, opening facilities and staging political events cost an estimated $890 million, annually. Even aside from an already impoverished country meeting that absurd figure, it’s clear that the DPRK is an unstable regime, which probably explains why neighboring China has been so careful in handling any related issues. What China and South Korea fear is the regime collapsing, and themselves being flooded with refugees.

Along with the mismanagement of national funds by the Government, the North has been suffering sanctions for years. As is always the case, such measures never affect the leaders making the decisions; only the people. The action of further sanctions could go either way - make the people of North Korea resent the “rest of the world” even more, or contribute to the eventual downfall of the regime.

Defense analysts believe that whilst the DPRK may have nuclear capabilities, they are still a long way from being able to deliver a warhead by missile. The biggest problem however is with the DPRK’s secrecy. Have they really tested a nuclear weapon, or have they set off dynamite in an underground facility? This ambiguity is exactly what its’ leaders want. Military action from the UN is inconceivable, sanctions may only make the problem worse. Whatever their abilities, this small, poor and heavily armed country has the attention of the world.

Bugger.

Today, at 1:36am GMT, North Korea tested a nuclear warhead. Naturally, in the wake of the Taepodong-2 test firing in July, nations in the region are more than a little nervous. The move has been internationally condemned, even by China, possibly the North’s closest ally. The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the testing as “brazen”.

The saga of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear ambitions has been churning for at least fourteen years. In 1993, the DPRK refused to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect two unreported facilities. Shortly afterwards, the hermit state withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Tensions were high, but in 1994, Washington & Pyongyang signed an agreement that stated the DPRK would cease attempting to build nuclear weapons, in return for the USA providing her with the means to set up a nuclear energy program. This aid never materialized.

In 2002, George Bush described the DPRK as part of the Axis of Evil, and months later, Intelligence claimed to have found evidence of a new nuclear warhead producing operation. The US, South Korea and Japan then halted the supply of oil, which had been a condition in the 1994 agreement. The following month, North Korea reactivated its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.

Since then, the North has been persuaded to join the Six Party talks, involving the US, Russia, South Korea, China and Japan. Some commentators have suggested that the DPRK’s tactics have been to make the world sit up and take notice of her demands, namely the lifting of economic sanctions.

Apart from an unpredictable nation like the DPRK having nuclear weapons, the other worry is that other countries could be inspired to start their own program. Nuclear warheads are the ultimate bargaining chip, a self perpetuating necessity. If a potential enemy has such power, it’s almost insane not to acquire it yourself. This, of course, is the stance of the DPRK, their statement claiming

"It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the area around it."

meaning they’ll be dealt with on more equal terms. What the International solution to the crisis will be is anybodies guess…I’m going to be watching this space.